By: Teacher Joseph
Following the rules in reported speech is important. Check this lesson out and learn other rules.
1. Tense Transition
The tense section of reported speech is tricky at first, but upon knowing the format, whether it is for speaking or writing, everything will be smooth for you.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
Present simple (Subject +V1st + Object)Dave said, "I dance." | Past simple(Subject +V2 + Object)Dave said that he danced. |
Present continuous (Subject +is/am/are+V1 +ing+ Object)Dane said, " I am having some wine in my place." | Past Continuous(Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+ Object)Dane said that she was having some wine in her place. |
Present perfect(Subject + has/have+V3+Object)Andrew said, "Julienne has gone to work." | Past perfect(Subject+had+V3+Object)Andrew said that Julienne had gone to work |
Past simple(Subject+V2+Object)Venus said, "Dwayne ate the cake". | Past perfect(Subject+had+V3+Object)Venus said that Dwayne had eaten the cake. |
Past Continuous(Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+ Object)They told, " We were traveling in Thailand." | Past perfect continuous(Subject +had been+V1 +ing+ Object)They told that they had been traveling in Thailand. |
Future simple(Subject+ will/shall+V1+object)Ben said, " I will buy a Beach house 5 years from now". | Present Conditional(Subject+ would+V1+object)Ben said that he would buy a beach house 5 years from now" |
Future Continuous(Subject +will/shall+be+V1 +ing+ Object)Jerry said, “they will be purchasing the tiles this afternoon.” | Conditional Continuous(Subject +would+be+V1 +ing+ Object)Jerry said that they would be purchasing the tiles this afternoon. |
2.Place and Time Transition
Words are altered in an Indirect Speech to replace the distance context and the time the action happened.
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
NowDave said, "I love dancing now". | ThenDave said that he loved dancing then. |
HereJacky said, " I want to stay here." | ThereJacky that he wanted to stay there. |
TodayBen said, " I will get a new phone today." | That dayBen said that would get a new phone that day. |
TomorrowJerry said, " I will submit my resignation letter tomorrow." | The next dayJerry said that he would submit his resignation the next day. |
Last weekJulia said, " I went to the health center for vaccination last week." | The previous weekJulia said that she had gone to the health center for vaccination the previous week. |
This | ThatShe said that she hated that feeling. |
TonightJen said, " all drinks are on me tonight." | That nightJen said that all drinks were on her that night. |
AgoBeverly said, " I went to Berlin 7 years ago. " | BeforeBeverly said that she had gone to Berlin 7 years before. |
ThusGino said, " I am not vaccinated; thus, I cannot go abroad anytime soon. | SoGino said that he was not vaccinated, so he couldn't go abroad anytime soon. |
Have you checked part 1 of this English lesson? Check part 1 🙂
Source: https://bit.ly/3aKXGYv